This book started so well, I was hoping for something along the lines of Sophie's World again - sadly it seemed to just get bogged down by its own inertia, repeated cyces of the same themes and plot lines.

If Jostein had just realised he had made his early points after about 80 pages, and either rounded off the story or developed a new story board it could still have been a very fine book.

As it is I've stalled at about page 100, and it sits neglected at my bedside as I always prefer to pick up one of my other current books.

I'll keep at it, it is still too good a book not to finish, but I may still have to revise my rating down as I progress. ( )

Paris, 1940. Twenty-year-old Michel Bonnet lives on the edge of the law, finding work where he can breaking in horses on the outskirts of the city. But when the Nazis invade, Michel takes refuge as a stowaway on a rickety train bound for the rural south.

The train is property of Le Cirque Neumann – a travelling circus owned by the troubled and irritable showman Werner Neumann. Neumann offers Michel a job caring for the company’s horses – a lucky break, but with an unusual condition attached. Michel must keep to himself.

But as Michel finds himself pulled into the wondrous world of the great spectacular it becomes more difficult to keep his promise. How can Michel win the love of the beautiful and exotic trapeze artist Freida, when he’s been forbidden to even meet her gaze?

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its cover and also since I love history, especially stories relating to World War II, I couldn't stop myself getting attracted to this book.

While this book does have a cast of interesting characters and a few magical moments, I just couldn't get myself enchanted because there were parts in the book where,I felt the pace of the story slowed down a bit too much.

Also, I genuinely feel that the author should have thought of another title for the book because it literally spoils one of the main surprises in the book.

All in all, it wasn’t a bad book, I wouldn't mind recommending it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Thank You to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC!! ( )

Second reads are strange. Particularly when they are about a decade apart. I still love Jostein´s writing but his content... His main character´s attitude to women rattles. And his attitude to people in general is rather too detached, which I can see my younger self loving. But while I still sympathy with how stories are the end of all of life for him, his complete disregard for human beings that he clearly understands SO well, comes off as creepy and psychopathic. If the character was not a grown man, I could maybe give him a little leeway but since his change of heart at the end is left incomplete and he´s almost fifty, it seems a bit unlikely that he will end up as someone I can think well off.

Anyway, it´s definitely worth reading if you are narratively inclined yourself, as the reflections on stories and storytelling are fascinating. One thing that he never seems to get that clearly, in his self-involved adoration, is that people who write are writers, and he himself is not superior for being able, in fact, being unable not to, come up with the plots and ideas for the stories but not to write. His feelings of superiority towards people who can actually TELL a story, gets rather annoying since THAT is the hardest part. I also found it quite strange that he never seemed very interested in any stories but the ones he made up, he mentions reading other books that those he inspired and even liking them but there is no love there. In fact, his early relationship to fiction seems to be born out of love but later it seems to feed a compulsion more than a passion.

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Deu ser el libre més gros que he llegit en catalá, va de un noi i després un home que s'inventa moltes i moltes histories, té masses idees pero poder escriure-les o fer-les pelicules el mateix, i a més a més com que no el ve en gana, així que les ven. Les seves idees son tan bones i la resta del món tan poc original que es fa ric fent-ho però es molt important que es mantingui en secret que el es el "autor" de totes les obres famoses dels ultims anys, aixi que quan començen les sospites... No m'enganyo, es un libre per a escritors i tampoc per tots, es un libre sobre la creativitat i a mi em va a agradar perque de petita jo era exactamente el mateix que el protagonista, començava unes tres noveles semanals i quan una casualment va a excedir las divuit pagines(molt més que ninguna abans) vaig decidir que la escriuria exclusivament i per un temps vaig a ser mig famosa entre les meves amigues i me vaig guanyar a una professora de llengua molt dura pero al final tampoc la vaig a acabar i vaig continuar tomant notes per histories que volia escriure i mai escrivint-les realment...

Finally figured out this is the same as "The Ringmaster´s daughter", or, well, i think it´s the second time I realise this (I insist this title is much better than the original). ( )

The cleverly told tale of a clever tale teller. Not as good as Sophie's World. (And all his books will be compared back to Sophie's World.)
Read feb 2004 ( )